Press "Enter" to skip to content

Month: February 2016

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

1996 Porsche 911 Turbo

It’s an all-turbo day for me, and I think this also makes for three straight 911 Turbos I will have featured. We’ve actually been looking at quite a few air-cooled Turbos lately, though a significant portion of those examples have come from the 930. Much of that probably has to do with what attracts my attention most since there are always examples of the 993 and, to a lesser extent, the 964 to choose from, yet the 930 finds its way onto our pages most frequently. Every model deserves its due so for this one we will move to the end of the air-cooled line to look at a very vibrant 993TT. While the 930 captures attention through a nature of almost pure aggression, the 993 elicits excitement through the shapeliness of its curves and the overall beauty of its design. Even the whale tail is more subdued and molded into the 993’s lines such that it seems a natural extension of the rear. Along with those refined lines the 993 also brought with it significant refinements to driveability that go beyond the basic evolutionary steps the 911 Turbo had previously passed through. With twin turbocharging and all-wheel drive helping to both deliver and make use of the 993 Turbo’s prodigious rear-engine power, gone were some of the 930’s more diabolical handling traits. The 911 Turbo had long served as Porsche’s showcase of its ability to produce performance machines that came with few compromises to luxury and refinement and the 993 brought the air-cooled line to its apex.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo on eBay

Comments closed

What a Drag: 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup ABD 2.1 16V

Way back in time, before the proliferation of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook – indeed, before the Internet really got off its feet at all, dreams were made not with by-the-minute browser refreshes eagerly anticipating the next clever comment or picture of someone eating an avocado. If you weren’t actually traveling the automotive scene, you were totally reliant on your monthly delivery of new automobile magazines. In high school, I had at one point four different subscriptions and poured over the details of every single car that graced the pages of what was my Bible. But it was in the mid 1990s that I stumbled across a magazine that really spoke to me much more than the BMW-loving Car and Driver or the fairly vanilla Automobile; I found a copy of European Car. It was a complete revelation to me, to see the cars that not only I dreamt about but could actually afford parts for. Nearly as good, if not perhaps better, than the feature articles were the advertisements. The “Dr. Feelgood”s of the European tuner scene, companies like Techtonics Tuning and Total Audi Performance spoke to my specific needs in ways that the mainstream magazines couldn’t. And within those advertisements, one particular company became something of a legend among a small group of friends who all shared the enthusiasm for Volkswagens. That company was AutoBahn Designs, better known as ABD Racing – and what they had created was an absolute monster. In the days before the ubiquitous VR-swap for VWs, dropping a 16V into the nose of your car was about as hot as you could get. But ABD took that recipe to the next level with a custom-built 2.1 16V with massive compression and side-draft carburetors. But it was really what they put it in that set them apart, as ABD chose a Caddy for the massive build. The result, stripped out, painted up and dominating the import drag scene, still gives me goose bumps when I see it all these years later:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup ABD 2.1 16V on eBay

Comments closed

1988 Porsche 930 Coupe

Last week I featured a Grand Prix White 911 Turbo 3.6 and talked about how the 964 is one of the models I particularly enjoy in white. With this Grand Prix White 1988 Porsche 930 Coupe I think we see a nice contrast in the way the two models showcase that paint. For me, the 964 shows much better for reasons I probably couldn’t explain, but I think much of it comes down to the prevalence of the black trim on each model. Others may have the opposite reaction; I’ve found that a white exterior tends to do that with cars. With their respective interiors we have a much different story. I love the contrast of the Burgundy interior on this 930. It works phenomenally with the Grand Prix White exterior and is far superior to the boring Grey we saw on the 964. So with both Turbos we have a little bit of a mixed bag, at least regarding the exterior and interior colors. Returning to this 930, the mileage here is reasonable for its age, though higher than most 930s we come across. So long as it has been well maintained that shouldn’t be of too much concern and should allow for it to sell at a much more reasonable price than lower-mileage examples.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 930 Coupe on eBay

Comments closed

2002 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe

We’ve had some discussion lately about the possibility of Porsche’s 996TT becoming popular on the collector market, which would then lead to higher prices as larger segments begin to take notice of these unloved, but extremely quick 911s. There is little doubt that the GT2 and GT3 are beginning to garner that appeal, but the Turbo remains less certain. Prices have gone up, but only marginally, and even with higher prices these remain one of the best performance bargains available. I am one that thinks these will become sought after by collectors – not to the same degree as the air-cooled Turbos, or at least not yet, but sought after nonetheless. However, as with many collector vehicles I think for the time being it will only be very low mileage and/or rare color models equipped with the X50 package that we see attract such notice. Examples with a few miles on them, like this Seal Grey 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe located in California, should still come in for reasonable cost. And that’s a very good thing as it means buyers can still get their hands on a fantastic machine that remains in good condition, but without having to mortgage the farm.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe on eBay

2 Comments

1988 Volkswagen LT28 Westfalia

s-l1600
We’ve posted some interesting variations on the Volkswagen LT vans, the plus-sized Vanagons that never came to the US. From firetrucks to zombie defense vehicles to race team vans, they’re like VW’s Sprinter. Today’s LT28 model, indicating the lightest gross vehicle weight available (they went up to the LT55), is a special edition form Westfalia called the “Sven Hedin,” the Swedish world explorer. The bigger size of the LT allows for more amenities than would ever fit in a T3 like a shower, while the hightop makes standing up much more comfortable. The size and rarity are definitely the main draws here, as it’s showing some wear after its 125k miles and 28 years. The interior looks original but droopy, especially the wall-mounted cloth storage sacks. The exterior shows some cracked and possibly redone paint areas, and the incredible blue stripes have seen better days. All of the thick plastic Westfalia interior bits look great though and the turbodiesel inline-6 should be just getting into its prime, so as long as there aren’t a bunch of rust spots hiding, I think it has a lot of potential as a plus-sized camper.

Click for details: 1988 Volkswagen LT28 Westfalia on eBay

Comments closed